foodconsumer.org: Free Female Condoms Available Soon in Washington DC

Free Female Condoms Available Soon in Washington DC
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admin on 03/07/2010 13:31:00
 
If you are a woman in Washington DC, here is some good news for you.  The city
government will give away $500,000 worth of female condoms soon in parts of the
city to help protect you and others against sexually transmitted diseases like
HIV/AIDS.
Within the next three weeks in parts of wards 1,2,3, 6 and 7 where a large
number of African Americans have been found to engage in high risk heterosexual
activity, the District will be the first in the United States to start
distributing female condoms free of charge, Washington Post reported.
As many as 500,000 female condoms will be available in beauty salons,
convenience stores and high schools in parts of the city where HIV rates are
found high.
Male condoms have been distributed citywide for about a decade in an effort to
help curb the spreading of HIV which causes a lethal disease known as AIDS. But
many men don't use their protection.
City officials said female condoms will give women more power to protect
themselves against sexually transmitted diseases when their partners refuse to
use protection.
The District rate of HIV/AIDS has been found at about 3 percent, according to a
2008 report cited by Washington Post. But the city government says the real
number could be close to 5 percent because only 60 percent of residents have
ever been tested for the infection.
The $500,000 for the female condoms to be distributed for free came from the MAC
AIDS Fund, a subsidiary of MAC Cosmetics which helps many city programs.
Offering free female condoms can be one good thing the city can do to help fight
HIV/AIDS.  A HIV Heterosexual Behavior Study reveals that 45 percent of survey
respondents reported they had had sex outside the relationship and more than 70
percent said they did not use condoms.
Not all women may be interested in the free female condoms as the first version
had disappointed many men and women. But this time, distributed will be a second
version FC2, which has a thinner polyurethane that can better conduct body heat
and deliver sexual sensation both for men and women.
By Jimmy Downs